You go in for a mild-mannered classic and get something that intense. There are two scenes that shook me, enough to feel physically uncomfortable, to have to put down the book for a moment: Spiegelberg talking about the sacking of the Abbey in 2nd act, 3rd scene and Franz forcing old Daniel to promise him to kill "the count" in 4th act, 2nd scne. There is so much sickening unmitigated cruelty in both and both make so much sense in the context and for the characters ... Not easy to read, not at all, but oh so good.